France, Jan. 31 -- A deal to send ammunition to Ukraine announced by France and Australia appears to have set in motion a new era of defence cooperation that aims to finally mend the relations between the two Indo-Pacific neighbours that were badly fractured by a row over submarines.

Laying to rest past grievances, the foreign and defence ministers of both countries spoke of the mutual respect, shared values and long history that underpinned the friendship- making it possible to turn the page on tensions provoked by Australia's 2021 reversal a major submarine deal.

During high-level ministerial talks at the French Foreign Ministry on Monday- the first since their diplomatic fallout- Paris and Canberra agreed to share the bill in the man...